The following is a list of British officers
who participated in the Independence of Peru:
Index by name:
General William
Miller
General O'Connor
Admiral Martin George Guise
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Sowersby
Admiral John Illingrot
Captain George Young
Captain Henry Freeman
Captain George French
Captain George Parker
Captain Robert Mickeljohns
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles
Lieutenant Wyman
Dr. Welsh
Surgeon Molloy
Dr. Nichol
William Miller, a native of Wingham, Kent, England born in 1795, first
landed in Buenos Aires in September 1817. He had previously served under Wellington in
Spain, having entered the British army when barely 15 years old.
Miller served as a young Major under San Martin and O'Higgings in the
struggle for the Independence of Chile. He fought courageously in several battles, among
them Cancha Rayada, Maipu and the seizing of the Lautaro vessel, suffering gun
shot wounds and was taken prisoner and barely escaped from being executed by
Spanish forces.
But Miller's hour of glory was to be in the fight for the Independence of
Peru. Miller participated in the rescue of patriot officers and soldiers from the Spanish
dungeons of San Lorenzo island, just off the port of Callao. Also, he was seriously
wounded in the capture of Pisco and Valdivia; in the attack on Chiloe he received a
bullet through his left thigh.
In 1820, San Martin promoted Miller to Lieutenant-Colonel and assigned him
four companies of infantry and artillery for the campaign in Peru. In the many encounters
he had with the enemy, Miller treated his prisoners with humanity. For his gallantry in
the raid to Moquegua and Arequipa he received the grade of Colonel and a reward of 25,000
dollars. His daring caused panic among the Spanish garrisons for which the Gaceta
of Lima described his feat as "prodigies of valor and military skill equal to
those we read of in Xenophon."
After the campaign in Arequipa, he was taken ill to recover aboard the
H.M.S. Aurora at the port of Callao and given all kinds of attention for which Miller
later wrote: "I regard the Aurora as my home afloat. The sight of her pendant
gladdens my eyesight almost as much as would the vane upon Wingham church steeple."
Miller was given the most cordial reception in Lima and Callao and in 1823
the Peruvian Government raised him to the rank of General of Brigade. Miller joined
General Sucre under Bolivar's command and received a letter from Bolivar saying "for
a long time I have desired to know you personally, since your services have won for you
the gratitude of all Americans." It was on May 19th, 1824 at Huaraz that Miller met
Bolivar and was given command of the Peruvian cavalry with orders to cross the Andes
and occupy Pasco, commencing the campaign for the final liberation of all South America.
In spite of being outnumbered by the Spanish forces and under
terrible weather conditions, Miller distinguished himself in the battle of Junin causing
Bolivar to name Miller's cavalry as the "Hussars of Junin". Miller's finest hour
would come on December 9th, 1824 in the plains of Ayacucho, high in the Peruvian Andes, in
a defining battle that would consolidate the Independence of Peru and of all South
America. Many writers of this epic battle attribute the victory at Ayacucho exclusively to
Miller's actions and valor and he was considered the hero of the day, although he was not
holding the chief command.
After the war, Miller was appointed Governor of Potosi; his health
diminished by years of fighting and military campaigns obliged him to resign his
post in November 1825 and travel to England not before receiving a farewell letter from
Bolivar acknowledging that his "intrepidity and tact had so much contributed to the
victory of Ayacucho". The Peruvian Government awarded him with the sum of 4,000
sterling pounds and in route to Buenos Aires to sail for England was hailed and presented
with gifts in numerous towns along the way. He landed in England on July 6th, 1826 and was
presented with the freedom of Canterbury and treated with great distinction.
After residing 17 years in England, Miller was appointed British
Commissioner to the Sandwich Islands, where he signed the treaties with Great Britain of
1844 and 1851, acting as H.B.M. Plenipotentiary.
The Peruvian Government conferred Miller the title of Grand Marshal of
Ayacucho in recognition for his participation in that battle. Miller returned to Peru in
1851 and resumed his post in the army for 10 years. In the final days of his life he
requested permission to die on board a British warship which was granted aboard H.M.S.
Naiad, at Callao, where he expired on October 31st, 1861.
His body was embalmed by the President's physicians, who extracted two
bullets and counted the marks of twenty-two wounds. His funeral was accorded with pomp and
military honors and attended by dignitaries. He rests in the British Cemetery at
Bellavista, Callao.
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General O'Connor, son of Roger O'Connor and godson of Sir Francis Burdett,
was one of the most distinguished soldiers of the Independence and played an
important part in the final victory of Ayacucho which secured the independence of South
America. General O'Connor came to South America as an ensign in the Irish Legion under
General Devereux; was made a lieutenant of the Albion regiment and fought all through the
campaign of Venezuela and Colombia, between 1819 to 1824, winning a grade on every battle
field until his regiment was reduced to a handful of men. He then raised a regiment at his
own expense and arrived in Peru in command of it, with the rank of Colonel accompanying
Bolivar. For his gallantry on the Battle of Ayacucho he was promoted to the rank of
General.
After the war of Independence, General O'Connor became Minister of War in
Bolivia, under General Santa Cruz's presidency and later became Governor of Tarija, post
which he held for many years. He was a man of aristocratic tastes and traditions,
distinguished manners and inflexible integrity. He claimed direct descent from Roderic
O'Conor, last King of Ireland, 1180 A.D. General O'Connor never returned to Ireland, dying
at his estancia in 1870.
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Admiral Martin George Guise served under Lord Cochrane and distinguished
himself in various battles during the war of Independence of Peru. He took
part in the capture of Pisco in November, 1819; assaulted and captured the Spanish frigate
Esmeralda in Callao; attacked the Spanish fortifications in the same port,
burning the Venganza and another enemy vessel. His daring and heroic acts
prompted General San Martin to raise Guise to the rank of Rear-Admiral of Peru on
September 1st, 1822 and give him command of the Peruvian fleet on May 8th, 1823.
In January of 1824, Guise was made Vice-Admiral of Peru and hoisted his
flag aboard the vessel Protector, formerly the Spanish frigate Prueba.
Admiral Guise blockaded Callao with 5 vessels on October 7th, 1825 causing the Spanish
commander to capitulate. In September 1826 he was tried by court-marshal at Lima and
honorably acquitted of all charges brought against him by his enemies. Being again
entrusted with command of the Peruvian fleet he was killed in the epic attack on Guayaquil
on November 24th, 1828.
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Lieut.-Colonel Sowersby was born at Bremen, Germany, of English parents.
In Europe, Sowersby fought under Napoleon at Borodino and survived the retreat from
Moscow. In Peru, he commanded an infantry detachment in the expedition of General Santa
Cruz to Upper Peru, fought the Spaniards at Maipu, Rio Bamba and Pichincha and afterwards
was made Lieut.-Col. of a squadron of Hussars in the battle of Junin. Sowersby was
mortally wounded in the battle of Junin and died two days after the battle, on August 8,
1824 in Carhuamayo, age 29 years. On accounts of his courage and valor at Junin, General
Miller erected a tablet over his grave.
Admiral John Illingrot was for some time captain of a Colombian war-vessel
until the incorporation of the Colombian with the Peruvian fleet,under Admiral Guise, at
Guayaquil, when he was confirmed in his command, on January 8, 1825. Admiral Illingrot
took part in the capture of Callao, after which he received the grade of Real-Admiral of
Peru. In June 1826, he was recalled by the Colombian Government to defend Guayaquil
against the Peruvian fleet and entrusted with the command of the Colombian fleet in the
ensuing war with Peru.
Captain George Young came in command of one of Lord Cochrane's vessels
that conveyed General San Martin's army to Peru. He was made capitaine de fregate in the
Peruvian navy, on September 14, 1822 and two month later appointed Commander of Callao
arsenal, which post he held until named Captain of the Congress, in March 1823.
He captured the Spanish war-vessel Vigie at Arica in 1824. At Guayaquil he
succeeded Admiral Guise in command of the frigate Protector. Retiring from active
service in 1825, he was named Port-captain of Callao but was again ordered to sea in 1834
as commander of the Arequipeño, from which he was transferred to the corvette Confederacion.
Retiring in 1837, he ran a merchant vessel for some years along the coast of Peru.
Captain Henry Freeman served for some years as a junior officer until
given the command of the Convencion, in 1834. He was placed on the reserve in
1836. An officer by the same name distinguished himself at the Morro de Sama under Lord
Cochrane in 1821; perhaps the same mentioned here.
Captain George French first serve as pilot aboard Admiral Guise's
flag-ship Protector in 1824 and received in 1825 the grade of Sub-Lieutenant. He
was promoted in 1834 to be Lieutenant-de-fregate with the post of Port-captain at
Lambayeque. He was given command of the Flor-del-Mar in 1836 and then transferred
to the corvette Confederacion. He was taken prisoner and detained for some time
in Chile but escaped and went back to Callao, where he remained until 1839, when he left
Peru.
Captain George Parker entered as cadet in March 1823 and became
Sub-Lieutenant in the following year. He was appointed to Lieutenant of the frigate Presidente
in November 1829 and later transferred to the Congreso, in which vessel the crew
mutinied at Cobija in 1834 and made him prisoner. He received permission in 1834 to enter
the merchant service, still preserving his rank and in May 1836 was made Captain of
corvette.
Captain Robert Mickeljohns entered the Peruvian navy as pilot of the
flag-ship Protector in 1824 and received from Admiral Guise in 1825 his
dispatches as Second Lieutenant. He rose to be Lieutenant in 1827 and was seriously
wounded by the side of Admiral Guise in the assault of Guayaquil. For his share in this
brilliant action he was made Brevet Captain and allow to retire on full pay, which he
enjoyed until his death, at Lima, in June 1836.
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles was educated at the Royal Military Academy at
Woolwich and served with the "Lusitania Legion" in Portugal in 1808 exhibiting
on every occasion talent, coolness and intrepidity. Charles was appointed to the staff of
Sir Robert Wilson in the peace negotiation between Turks and Russian at Constantinople.
For his services in the campaigns in Germany and Italy, he was conferred the Cross of St.
George of Russia, of Merit of Prussia and of Maria Theresa of Austria.
In September, 1819 Charles accompanied Lord Cochrane's expedition to
Callao and devised a contraption of rockets and rafts but failed to defeat the
Spanish forces. The attack was repeated in the town of Pisco and Charles mounted an
offensive with a force, that although inferior in number to the Spaniards, caused them to
retreat. The intrepid Lieutenant-Colonel Charles was mortally wounded in this charge and
was taken aboard the Lautaro vessel, together with his also wounded friend
Miller, and expired a few hours later.
Lieutenant Wyman was an officer of the Hussars of Junin; wounded in the
battle of that name, he was unable to keep up with the patriot army in the march to
Ayacucho and fell into the hands of the enemy. Having failed in a desperate attempt to
escape from his escort, he was treated with great severity. Not being able to sit upright
on horseback, the Spaniards slung him across a raw-boned mule and conducted him in this
manner for two days. On arriving at Abancay, he was supposed to be so near his end, that
he was thrown upon a heap of rubbish at the door of a hut and left to die. A poor Indian
woman, under cover of the night and with the assistance of her son, removed the almost
lifeless body, and concealed it until the Spaniards marched away, after which she watched
over Lieutenant Wyman with great care, administering all the aid her scanty means would
allow.
Miller was told of Wyman's fate and rushed to his side. Miller was so
struck at seeing his young friend's condition and the severity of his wounds that he
ordered immediate clothing and medical supplies for Wyman and left what money he had for
the Indian Samaritan. Wyman would later recover under her care.
Dr. Welsh, private surgeon to Lord Cochrane, volunteered to
accompany Miller in the attack on Mirabe, and was killed in the hour of victory. In
Miller's memoirs it is said " the loss of this young Scotchman was very much
deplored. There was a liveliness of manner and a kindness of heart perceptible in his
assiduous attentions to the sick and wounded, which won for him more than the esteem of
all. The soldiers wept over his remains; and such was the idea of his worth in the minds
of of the inhabitants of Tacna, that the news of his fall produced in the principal
families sensations of regret to an extent unusual upon so short an acquaintance".
Cochrane wrote that he would sooner have lost his right arm; and Miller had to lament the
loss of a friend. Welsh was mourned alike by the soldiers and by the sailors, by his
countrymen and by South Americans, and his early death was a severe loss to the patriot
service.
Surgeon Molloy, an Irishman, succeeded Dr. Welsh but lived only a
few days. He was drowned next month, with a boat's crew, in an attempt to surprise the
Spanish forces at the port of Ilo.
Dr. Nichol attended General Miller during a dangerous illness
when Governor of Puno in 1825. Dr. Nichol was living in La Paz at that time and had to
travel 170 miles on horse back to treat General Miller; Nichol's prompt attention
and skills had Miller fully recovered within days.
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